Greetings!

Happy new year! 

Now that we're through the holiday season and the weeks after when you still feel like you're playing catch-up, I realized that I had not sent out a newsletter for some time.  So I've put together an interesting selection of wines for you to read about.  I think you'll really enjoy these, as some I haven't written about for quite a while.  At the end I've also listed three selections in 375ml format.  We currently offer 26 different wines in this size, which are perfect for two-people over dinner, mid-week. 

As always, prices are per bottle including everything except $0.20 bottle deposit.  We sell only by the unmixed case.

My full catalogue is always available at Rogers & Company, and feel free to browse the website, we have a few new producers that we've recently added to our portfolio with many more to come! 

Sincerely,

Chris.

Domaine Paul Blanck Gewurztraminer 2009  [750ml/12case]   $25.95

Domaine Paul Blanck cultivates 4 Grand Cru vineyards and 5 lieu-dits (very important, but not Grand Cru) vineyards,  providing a palate of flavours and textures for their final blends. 
 

 The wines achieve the best expression of these different types of soil - richness from limestone, weight and strength from clay, harmony from magnesium, and bouquet, finesse, and power from flint.  Each grape variety and each vineyard is vinified separately accounting for the distinct properties.  The wines are aged in large, neutral oak vats to soften the wines but not impart any wood character.

To quote Clive Coates MW in The Vine "This property now belongs in the super league."

This 100% Gewurztraminer is produced from 20 year old vines, cultivated naturally with minimal intervention in the village of Kientzheim in Alsace. To increase complexity to this already multi-layered grape, the wine underwent wild yeast fermentation and was allowed to rest sur lie, on the yeast to impart more flavour. 

White flower, violet and spice aromas lead into a rich mouthfeel with flavours of ginger, Turkish delight and spice.  It is dry, poised and elegant and rewards cellaring for 3-4 years, but in the interim, try this with a wide selection of Thai cuisine. 
 

Domaine Huet is regarded as one of France's, if not the world's, top wineries.  No other producer displays the mastery with the Chenin Blanc grape as Huet.  From their three famous vineyards, Le Haut Lieu, Le Mont and Le Clos du Bourg they produce all types of white wine from bone-dry to sparkling-sweets, depending on what nature provides over the growing year and every incarnation is worth collecting.  This dry wine has a reputation for aging for quite some time - 5-12 years easily.   

The sweeter the wine, the longer they age and some of Huet's pre-WWII wines, still drinking today, are the stuff of legend. 

"This offers lilting ginger, creamed peach, green fig and brioche flavours offset by a live-wire spine of acidity. Flirts with off-dry in feel, but finishes with rapier cut. Shows impressive purity and definition for the vintage. Drink now through 2015. 1,050 cases made."

92 points, Wine Spectator, April 30, 2010

"Pale yellow. Pungent pit fruits, spices and dried flowers on the nose. Wound pretty tight today, opening slowly to offer juicy nectarine and lemon curd flavours and deeper honey and marzipan qualities. A much harder read than the Le Mont Demi-Sec today, finishing with solid grip and lingering honey and floral notes."

91 (+?) points, International Wine Cellar, May/June 2010

La Giustiniana Gavi di Gavi "Cru Lugarara" 2009  [750ml/12case]  $23.95

The origins of this superb winery are ancient.  The settlement is mentioned in 900 AD in the "Annals of the Republic of Genoa", and in 1250 wine was in production.   In 1625 the Giustinianis assumed control of the property and built the estate which still stands today.  Current director Enrico Tomalino and the Lombardini family who own it feel a moral obligation that the wines do justice to the splendor of the estate.   

The newest techniques are employed in the cellar and vineyard to produce wines of top quality while maintaining the historic techniques that have preserved this ancient terroir.  They use no chemicals or pesticides in the vineyards, harvest by hand and ferment in stainless steel. 

This single-vineyard, 100% Cortese wine is light lemon/gold in colour, with fresh aromas of white peaches and nectarines. It shows more concentration and weight on the palate than the 2007 with similar lemony citrus notes. It is rich with good levels of acidity and a long mineral finish.  If you like unoaked chardonnays and chablis then this should be on your short list.
 

Stoneburn Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2010  [750ml/12case]   $17.95

Stoneburn Sauvignon Blanc is grown in the Wairau valley - the premier sub-appellation of Marlborough.  This vineyard was planted in a dry river-bed which provides adequate drainage, loads of minerals and the benefit of "pudding stones" which radiate warmth throughout the night to enhance ripening, much like in Chateauneuf-du-Pape.  The results are very intense, clean Sauvignon Blanc flavours and crisp acidity.

This Sauvignon Blanc shows classic grassy characters underpinned with hints of peppers.  Its zesty, tangy and acid structure is supported by a mineral-like backbone.  The finish is crisp and refreshing.   

This new winery is a project of Hunter's Winery, one of the oldest wineries in Marlborough and the winery credited with starting the Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc phenomenon.  This represents a real value in Kiwi Sauvignon Blanc!

Querciabella Chianti Classico 2008  [750ml/6case]   $34.95

Agricola Querciabella was established at Greve in Chianti in 1974 by Giuseppe Castiglioni, a profound connoisseur of wines and the greatest collector of Roederer Cristal in the world.  He set out to establish a winery that represented Chianti and Tuscany as one of Italy's top regions and to produce world-class wines that would suit his quality expectations.

The winery is critically acclaimed for its bio-dynamically grown wines - Mongrana from Maremma; this Chianti Classico; its lush Merlot named Palafreno; the white Super-Tuscan "Batar"; and the "legend in the making" Super-Tuscan Camartina.

"Deep red-ruby. Balsamic black plum, sweet milk chocolate and coffee liqueur aromas on the captivating, mineral-accented nose. Then fleshy and ripe in the mouth, with more spicy black plum, herb and coffee flavours. Finishes soft and smooth, with a trace of finishing heat. Well done, if on the ripe side."

90 points, International Wine Cellar, July/August 2010

Alain Graillot Crozes-Hermitage 2008  [750ml/12case]   $32.95

Even in challenging vintages like 2008, great winemakers can still make top-notch wines and again Alain Graillot has stepped it up, proving that wines made from the flats surrounding Hermitage can compete with wines made from the hill. 

True to the Graillot style, this wine is rich yet refined and though drinking well now, it is worth cellaring to let the bacon-y, savoury, floral complexity unfold. 

"Glace cherry nose; perfumed and floral.  Medium-bodied, but has intensity and purity, sleek, stylish, fresh and long.  Drink 2011-2015"

4/5 stars, Highly Recommended, Decanter, February 2011

Astrolabe Marlborough Pinot Noir 2008 [750ml/12case]   $27.95

Award winning winemaker Simon Waghorn crafts this Pinot Noir as part of his "Voyage" line of wines which showcase the definitive Marlborough style.  It is a blend of Pinot Noir farmed in the lower and mid Waihopai region and upper Brancott Valley of Marlborough.

It offers up plum, cherry, game and smoky oak flavours.  It has a silky, mouth filling body that slides effortlessly across your palate.  This is a great choice to pair with any game or wild fare, also duck, salmon or trout.

"There's more to Marlborough than Sauvignon Blanc. Generous, full-coloured red with concentrated, cherryish, spicy flavours, youthful tannins and good complexity. Drink now or cellar."

4/5 stars, Michael Cooper, New Zealand Listener, May 2010

Please visit Astrolabe's website and check out the great video starring Simon Waghorn. 

Ehlers Estate St. Helena Merlot 2007  [750ml/12case]   $60.95

Ehlers Estate is one of the oldest wineries in Napa, having been built and vineyards planted in 1886 by Bernard Ehlers on what is now Ehlers Lane in St. Helena just off highway 29.  The vineyards are now farmed using bio-dynamic techniques and the wines have never been better.  

This is a complex full bodied Merlot that has the balance and structure to age for decades. The flavours of raspberry and cherry cola, licorice, brambles, mint and black currants adorn this rich and dense expression of the North St. Helena terroir. This wine has a firm acidity, velvety mid-palate, and long, classic Merlot finish.

"A spectacular Merlot that could help resurrect the variety's reputation.  It's as complex as anything from Napa, but is softer and more accessible than a Cabernet Sauvignon, which constitutes 8% of the blend.  Shows ripe flavours of red cherry pie filling, raspberries and cola, almost like a Pinot Noir, except for the black currants that must come from the Cab, and of course, the tannins, which are rich and fine.  Simply gorgeous and compelling.  Now-2013."

93 points, Editor's Choice, Wine Enthusiast,November 2010

Grayson Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon 2009  [750ml/12case]   $18.95

Rarely do we find serious Cab in this price range.  Grayson Cellars is taking full advantage of the current "situation" in California by buying premium grapes from wineries in financial trouble to produce these lovely wines (we also have a Chardonnay) at a fantastic price.   

This Cab is medium bodied, generous and fruity, with a hint of herbaceousness and finish of sweet oak like vanilla and brown sugar.  I recommend drinking this in the near-term, 2-3 years. 

"Even better is the 30,000-case cuvee of 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon (aged 9 months in stainless steel and neutral French oak). The "real deal," it is a velvety textured, lush, round, crowd-pleasing Cabernet revealing a dark ruby colour as well as lots of black currant and herb notes intermixed with a hint of smoke."

88 points, Robert Parker, December 2010

One of my all-time faves, this wine is sourced mostly from decades-old vineyards on Sonoma Mountain, but because of the blending of other estate properties, it falls out of the "Sonoma Mountain" appellation.  This situation equates to great value.   

The wine is aged in large neutral oak vats which impart no oak flavour, but do provide a level of "polish" and softening to the wine.  It is wonderfully balanced and refined and because of this balance it ages really nicely as well.  This is a great buy for an "everyday" wine that can also be enjoyed by connoisseurs.

Decanter magazine recommends this wine in their February 2011 issue, writing "Cherry, coffee bean, spice and blackberry fruit bouquet.  Fresh, sleek and cool fruited with violet and currant flavours and super-mineral tannins.  Quite grown up."

Duckhorn Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2003  [750ml/12case]   $81.95

It's a rare opportunity for us to have older vintages available, especially at a price marginally ($4) more than the current vintage, but when given the chance to bring in this esteemed Napa Cabernet we jumped on it.   

Duckhorn's Cabs are historically densely structured with a good layering of new oak, - wines that reward years in a cellar, but this 2003 is showing its maturity as it comes into its peak drinking window. 

"As always, Duckhorn's Cab this year is a very tannic wine. But it's a very fine wine, packed with ripe black currant and cassis fruit, and coated with spicy, toasty oak. This firm wine needs long decanting, and should develop well through 2012 or so."

92+ points, Cellar Selection, Wine Enthusiast, April 2007

"Classic curranty fruit combines with a bit of briary spice, hints of olives and wisps of smoke in the deeply constituted aromas and again in the well-focused flavours of this solidly structured, gusty young wine. Its tannins are a bit abrasive just now but are never outsized or in any way threaten the wine's expression of fruit. It does not tempt premature drinking, but it will age famously and is guaranteed to reward a wait of a half-dozen years or so."

91 points, Connoisseur's Guide to California Wines, December 2006

Half-Bottles [375ml/12case]

Astrolabe Sauvignon Blanc 2009  [375ml/12case]  $14.45

Our phenomenally popular Astrolabe Sauvignon Blanc is now available in half-bottles.  It's the perfect size for two people to split over a meal, and for this wine I'd recommend a big chunk of pan seared Chilean Sea bass with fennel citrus slaw. 

"This must be Astrolabe's best Sauvignon Blanc to date - it's certainly a long way ahead of the 2008. A mix of Awatere with Wairau Valley fruit it's a very powerful statement about the Marlborough style. Concentrated wine with a mix of passion fruit, mineral and tomato leaf flavours. Impeccably balanced and with a lingering finish that won't quit."

95 points, Bob Campbell MW, BobsWineReviews.com, December 2009

If you're lucky enough to be able to grill outdoors in the winter - get the grill good and hot, slap a thick rib-eye on it, brush it with fresh herbs dipped in olive oil, cook to your preferred doneness (mine is medium well), and when done rub the crispy edges with garlic and top it with marrowbutter - then pull the cork on this minerally, chewy, youthfully tannic Cab and enjoy.  A match made in heaven.

"Opulent blackcurrant nose, rich, vibrant and pure.  Sumptuous and full-bodied, yet spicy and vigorous, beautifully balanced.  From 2010."

5 of 5 stars Decanter Award, Decanter, January 2009

Ridge "Lytton Springs" 2008  [375ml/12case]   $25.95

Lytton Springs is so much more than a Zinfandel.  It is a slice of Americana - a reference for Dry Creek valley wines and one of the most famous wines in the U.S.   

Richer than its "sibling" wine Geyserville, this vintage is according to winemaker John Olney, a "winelover's wine" - minerally, peppery, rustic, compact and not 'over-the-top'. 

"The 2008 Lytton Springs Proprietary Red, a blend of 74% Zinfandel, 21% Petite Sirah, and 5% Carignan, possesses a deep ruby/purple colour and good acidity, and a more closed style than the Geyserville, with a firmer, more restrained overall personality.   It should drink well for 7-8 years."

91-93 points, Robert Parker, February 2010